Sopa de Chochoyotes

mexican bean soup with masa dumplings

We are back! My latest bean club shipment arrived last week, reminding me that I still haven’t moved through the 6 pounds of beans I received in December. Despite the depths of winter being soup season, for some reason I have not been making much soup—I beg you, send me links to soups that inspire you. Honestly, I haven’t been making much of anything except nachos and taco salads, and a very bad recreation of a soup of my youth that needs more workshopping (not that this newsletter requires ANY workshopping). Oh, and a super delicious cake:

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This soup is inspired by a recipe in the bean club newsletter for a bean soup with chochoyotes, aka masa dumplings. I’ve never made chochoyotes or done anything with masa harina (embarrassing!), so I did some research (asked my friend Beth), and found (she sent me) this recipe for Pinto Bean Soup with Masa Dumplings by Pati Jinich. The Rancho Gordo recipe, which in the end I followed more closely technique-wise, used too many fucking dishes. I had to mix the dumplings in a bowl then cook them separately in water, I had to use a blender to blend up some masa and water to thicken the soup with a strainer, and then there was the soup pot. Pati’s recipe was pureed, which I also didn’t want to do, but it included tomatoes and seemed more flavorful. So here I’ve simplified for what I’ll do next time.

Some general recs: this is definitely a minimalist ingredient soup that might be lackluster with canned beans; I used some Domingo Rojo beans I cooked earlier this week, but it would be good with any Mexican bean, like black beans or pinto beans. I compared several recipes, and the cook time for the chochoyotes varies a lot. I cooked mine for 10 minutes then let them sit in the hot water with the heat off until I put them into the soup a la Rancho Gordo, but they needed more time. If you’re cooking them directly in the soup, I would do it at a low simmer for at least 20 minutes. Finally, this soup is SIMPLE so it needs proper seasoning and a lot of toppings.

Wait! It’s also … vegan??? And gluten-free. I had almost hit send on this when I realized. Except for the sour cream topping, it’s vegan.

Sopa de Chochoyotes

For dumplings:

Mix 1 cup of masa harina with 1/2 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of oil and a big pinch of salt. Mix until no dry spots remain, and then knead in the bowl til it all comes together. Form small balls then push your thumb into the middle to make a well.

For soup:

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 1 onion, sliced

• 2-3 garlic cloves, sliced

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• cilantro stems, bay leaf, or epazote (whatever flavoring you want)

• 3 cups of beans

• 4 cups of bean stock

• 1/2 cup masa harina, optional

• toppings: crema/sour cream, avocado, sliced radish, cilantro, lime

1. Heat oil over medium high heat, then add the onions. Saute until soft, then brown in parts. Add garlic and cook for another minute or two, then add tomato paste. Cook, stirring, until a little darker red and coating all the onions. Add beans, broth, and any herbs for flavoring and bring to a simmer. Salt to taste.

2. Once simmering, add the dumplings and keep the soup at a very low simmer for 20 minutes. The dumplings will disintegrate if the soup is boiling, but the simmer will have the dumplings thicken the soup. Sacrifice a dumpling and cut it open to see if it’s cooked through; it should not look dry in the middle.

3. If you want the soup thicker, mix 1/2 masa harina with 1.5 cups water (use the old dumpling mixing bowl!), then pour into the soup through a strainer. Salt to taste again.

4. Ladle the soup into a bowl and then top with crema, radish, cilantro, avocado, and most importantly, a squeeze of lime.